Teesmouth Bird Club Newsletter

Teesmouth Bird Club

Newsletter

August 2019 (No.73) Reg.Charity No.508850

CONTENTS MARCH 2019

After a warm end to February, the first half of March 1 MONTHLY SUMMARIES was wet, cold and windy. Single Red Kites were seen on 4th, 7th, 11th, 20th, 22nd, 25th and 28th, 4 NATIONAL SEABIRD CENSUS – 2018/19 the first Mediterranean Gull to join the Black-headed Gulls on Saltholme was seen on 7th and significant 4 BREEDING SEABIRDS ON THE numbers of Redpolls were on Eston Moor and at the CONOCOPHILLIPS JETTIES SEAL SANDS feeders at Lockwood Beck from 8th. At least 2 Mealy Redpolls could be seen at Lockwood Beck, and most 5 SUMMER UPDATE FROM THE CHAIR of around 115 Redpolls on Eston Moor were thought to be this species. Also, three different birders on 6 INDOOR MEETING SCHEDULE 2019-20 three separate occasions between 8th and 18th had brief views of what was probably a Coues’s Arctic 6 LOCAL OUTINGS AUGUST 2019 TO Redpoll on Eston Moor. DECEMBER 2019 A small amount of snow fell on 9th which did not last. The same day saw a Great Northern Diver in 7 GEOFF MYERS 1942 – 2019 Hartlepool harbour but also Cleveland’s first March Sooty Shearwater, which was seen off Hartlepool 8 NAVIGATION?....JUST FOLLOW YOUR and South Gare. NOSE

8 WILLOW TIT SURVEY 2019

9 TITBITS

10 LISTS, MISTAKES ETC

11 A BOOK WORTH READING

12 BIRD HUNTING IN EUROPE

13 PHEASANTS, PHEASANTS AND EVEN MORE PHEASANTS

15 POPULATION TRENDS IN BRITISH BIRDS

16 WETLAND BIRD SURVEY TEESMOUTH AUTUMN 2018 SUMMARY

White-tailed Eagle Sylvia & Mick Brennan

1 The weather began to improve from 17th, when a The first Greylag goslings were at Lockwood Beck Bittern was at Bowesfield, the first Little Ringed on 10th, the same day as a drake Mandarin on the Plover of the year was on Cowpen Bewley Tip Pools River Tees at Yarm, the first Tree Pipit, Yellow and the White-tailed Eagle was in Cleveland air- Wagtail and Common Tern were all seen on 11th, space again over Sleddale. Next day, the first Sand the first Grasshopper Warbler on 12th, Redstart, Martin was at RSPB Saltholme, what may have been Reed and Sedge Warblers on 13th, Whimbrel on the same Bittern was on Coatham Marsh and a Red- 14th and the first spring Greenshank on 15th. crested Pochard was on Haverton Hole, also being Also from 15th, two pairs of Barnacle Geese were at seen there on 21st. Scaling Dam, raising hopes of more goslings after The first Wheatear of the year was noted on 19th, last year’s successful rearing of three young, and a the same day as a Rough-legged Buzzard was in Spotted Crake was at RSPB Saltholme for over a Sleddale and over 200 Whooper Swans flew North. week from 16th. Another 50 Whooper Swans were seen on 20th, more than 100 on 21st and 45 on 22nd. The first Black Redstart of the year was at Skinningrove on 22nd, the first Swallow was at South Gare on 23rd, the first Ring Ouzel was in Sleddale on 26th and the first Ruff and singing Blackcaps were noted on 28th. A Slavonian Grebe was off North Gare, also on 28th and two Red Kites were seen at Brotton Golf Course and South Gare on 29th.

Spotted Crake Ian Forrest

A Bonxie passed Hartlepool on 16th, a pair of Great White Egrets graced Cowpen Marsh for a few days from 17th, the first Spoonbill and Cuckoo were recorded on 18th, Garden Warbler on 19th, Sanderling Rob Young Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat on 20th, but rarity of the month was Cleveland’s sixth Black Kite over Wilton Woods, also on 20th. The only spring Spotted Redshank was on Cowpen APRIL 2019 Marsh on 21st, the first Little Gull and Whinchats arrived on 22nd, Firecrest and Little Stint were seen After a reasonably warm second half of March, the on 23rd, the first of a few Pied Flycatchers on 24th first half of April was rather cold, with near- and Cleveland’s first spring Yellow-browed Warbler continuous Easterly winds, and -2 C recorded on was at Hartlepool on 25th. 11th. The last few days of April were not quite as exciting A drake Green-winged Teal was on RSPB Saltholme with the first Swift on 26th, the first Little Tern on from 1st and was consorting with a duck teal that 27th, the same day as a Hen Harrier at Scaling Dam may have been a female Green-winged Teal; both and a ‘Channel’ Wagtail at Haverton Hole. A Wood birds were seen together on a few dates in April, Warbler in Zinc Works bushes on 30th was well- last being seen on 26th. received, this being a hard bird to see in recent The only inland Kittiwake of the year was on Scaling years Dam on 2nd, a rather late Snow Bunting was at North Gare on the same day, but summer visitors continued to trickle in with House Martin, Garganey and Osprey all being recorded on 3rd. The first Sandwich Tern was seen on 4th, first Willow Warbler on 5th and the first of about six Hooded Crows passed Hunt Cliff, also on 5th. A displaying pair of Marsh Harriers was seen over Dormans Pool and Haverton Hole from 7th, giving hope for a breeding pair in Cleveland after the only other breeding attempt was successful in 1996. Little Tern Rob Young 2 MAY 2019 South Gare continued to attract good birds with the only Iceland Gull seen in the first half of the year on The first ten days of May were particularly cold with 4th, the year’s first Roseate Tern on 7th and an an Easterly or Northerly wind throughout, creating elusive Golden Oriole on 8th-9th. a little sea-watching on 3rd-4th. Another Great White Egret graced Saltholme from A rather late Brambling was at Hartlepool on 1st, a 10th, the first Black Swan returning to Saltholme few auks, Gannets and Manx Shearwaters passed was noted from 11th and a rather late Black Tern along the coastline from 3rd, an Avocet began a was there on 12th. week-long stay at Scaling Dam on 4th, and a Bonxie was off Saltburn on 6th. The 7th proved eventful with several Turnstones and Black Terns reported on inland waters, and eight Dotterel over Guisborough Moor. A Little Gull was on Back Saltholme on 9th, the same day as the first Spotted Flycatcher was seen, the first Wood Sandpiper was at RSPB Saltholme on 10th, a Crane flew over the same place on 11th, a Grey-headed Wagtail was at Hummersea on 13th, and a rather late Shore Lark was at South Gare for four days from 13th.

Tawny Owl Ian Watson

For the second year running a pair of Barnacle Geese hatched three young at Scaling Dam (on 16th) although one died within a day or two. On the same day a summer-plumaged Black-necked Grebe was found on a private pond, it staying for well over a week and giving rise to the possibility of breeding in the near future. Five Spoonbills graced Saltholme on the afternoon of the longest day, one of which was a Dutch-ringed bird. They had been seen at Spurn, E Yorkshire on 20th and were over Northumberland on 22nd, then in Lothian, Scotland on 23rd. Great-reed Warbler Ian Forrest

The action moved up a gear from 18th with the arrival of a Bluethroat at South Gare and three Temminck’s Stints on Saltholme, followed on 20th by the only Turtle Dove of the year at the Zinc Works bushes and then Cleveland’s sixth Great Reed Warbler singing and showing well at RSPB Saltholme from 22nd, into June. Little else was seen in May, although the now- annual visit to Phillips Jetty on 29th produced an impressive total of 10 occupied Shags nests, including one ringed as a chick in the nest on the Farne Islands, Northumberland in 2010. A late Whooper Swan was on Scaling Dam on 29th – 30th. Little Owl Ian Forrest JUNE 2019 A hint of autumn was noted on 24th when the first The bird of the month arrived on 1st in the form of returning Ruff, Greenshank and Green Sandpiper a Rose-coloured Starling at South Gare. It was there were all seen, though the last week of the month for three days and was considered to be a first- saw the highest day-time temperatures recorded summer bird, based on the extent of various shades with 29 C on 29th. of brown in its plumage. The number of Black Swans at Saltholme increased to two on the same day.

3 NATIONAL SEABIRD CENSUS – 2018/19

This is the second year of the National Seabird Census. The project has been organised by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), working alongside the Seabird Monitoring Programme (SMP). The urban nesting gulls were included in the survey this year - i.e. the Herring Gulls and Lesser Black- backed Gulls. Martin Blick took on the role last year as coordinator for Cleveland and it is thanks to him that this survey has now been completed, with some assistance from one or two club members.

The 2019 survey took place on 29 May in near- perfect conditions. A total of 286 Kittiwake nests were counted, along with no fewer than 10 Shag nests. While the Kittiwakes prefer girders on the sheltered east-facing sides of the inset dock jetties, all the Shag nests were located beneath the jetties themselves, mostly on suspended cable trays. An adult Shag perched nearby bore a red colour ring inscribed with white lettering (“TFS”) and is likely to have been a breeding bird. This individual was ringed as a nestling on the Farne Islands on 26 June 1010, and was seen at Kirkcaldy on the Fife coast later that year; subsequently it has been recorded at Teesmouth in 2014, 2015 and 2016. For those who like a girl in uniform; our illustrious chairwoman about to do battle with the Shags on the jetty

BREEDING SEABIRDS ON THE CONOCOPHILLIPS JETTIES SEAL SANDS

Since 2005 INCA staff have made annual monitoring visits to these jetties in order to count the number of Kittiwake nests. In 2018 Barbara Crinson and Martin Blick approached Mike Leakey to see if a boat-based survey could be arranged, so as to achieve a better level of coverage for the JNCC Breeding Seabirds Census. This duly took place on 31 May, when 377 apparently occupied Kittiwake nests were counted, along with a single Shag nest. Although breeding by Shag had been suspected Grateful thanks are due to Tony Finn of here for a number of years, this was the first ever ConocoPhillips for facilitating the visits and for confirmed instance in Cleveland. accompanying the surveyors, and to the ever- helpful boat crew.

4 SUMMER UPDATE FROM THE CHAIR from Northumbrian Water, records from the Cleveland portion of the reserve, regarding the The Trustees Committee reconvened in May. The invertebrates, will be available for our own club and following account provides an update for club should appear in future newsletters. members of the topics raised, plus other matters of Work is in progress to re-instate the Bird ID board, interest arising over the last few months. which was taken down from the old hide. It requires an upgrade and will appear in due course WILLOW TIT SURVEY when we find time!

At the time of our AGM in April, work was still LOCKWOOD BECK underway concerning the National Willow Tit Survey. We have had 40 club members out in the The table and feeders have been cleaned regularly field, plus various friends or partners, all by me and Martin. It was very disappointing to contributing to such an important project. As learn that someone has stolen two of the feeders in coordinator, I have managed to chase up all July – one being brand new. However, on a much participants for their results, so a short summary of more positive note, the club has received a donation our work now appears as a separate article within from three Whitby birders, in appreciation of the this newsletter. The national picture will be clarified feeding station and how much pleasure they have at a much later date. had from visiting the site. The club extends its thanks for the very kind contribution to the running NEW WEBSITE costs. The Risk Assessment for the roof extension has Work on the new website continues. I feel been submitted to Northumbrian Water so, confident that any members who had concerns hopefully, the shelter above the seated area may be about “change” at the outset, will be content with in place by the autumn. the end result, but please show some patience throughout the necessary period of disruption and NATURE TOURISM MARKETING GROUP development. The small team involved in the upgrade have listened to comments or requests www.enjoyteesvalley.com is a new site being from various members and the team leader, Jamie developed by the Tees Valley Combined Authority. Duffie, is striving incredibly hard to keep everyone It will include Sites to Visit, Things to Do, happy and all should be aware he is spending many, Accommodation etc and the club has been invited many hours of his own time to achieve that aim. to appear in their listings. There has been one The daily Tweets are so easy to access but they no meeting to date, which I attended. It is apparent longer swamp the Homepage. The Forum was that the club is required to provide three images for transferred across almost immediately for members upload. The Trustees would be very grateful to any who find this a useful tool. The Events page is now photographer who can provide us with a decent up and running and we hope to list the evening shot of Shelducklings, (obviously relevant to our meetings and field trips here on the website, instead logo), perhaps another of cute chicks and also one of trawling through each newsletter to find details. of a group of “not so cute” birdwatchers (preferably As per usual, Twitter will also be used for the minus camouflage). reminders of these occasions. Updating the Site Guide is a lengthy process. I have WILDLIFE THEMED EVENTS contacted all the script writers or other relevant club members, to review and update each article. New Each year, more requests come in to the club, sites are being added, courtesy of Martin Blick, asking for help and representation at numerous (aided by his secretary)! We would still appreciate local events. The club extends its thanks to Barbara help from the photographers to provide us with Keville, who attended the “Music and Wildlife some location shots in Cleveland. This would Festival” at Saltburn in June. However, the enhance the Site Guide and help showcase our club committee really does need help from the wider and the county. membership to assist in promoting our organisation and aims, so please come forward if you can devote SCALING DAM a few hours of your time.

Martin Blick and I attended the Scaling Dam Wildlife OTHER CLUB ACTIVITIES Advisory Group meeting held in mid-April. Martin continues to compile the Bird Report, as well as the There have been some well-attended trips, Butterfly, Dragonfly and Damselfly Report for including outings to Cowpen Bewley Forest Park, Northumbrian Water. Details concerning the birds Flatts Lane Country Park, Guisborough Forest and appear in our own Annual Report. With permission 5 Saltholme Wilderness Walk. Thank you to all the Monday 6th January 2020 – Independent Alaska- walk leaders. Graeme Joynt

I attended the Local Community Liaison Council Monday 3rd February 2020 - Rosedale Dippers Meeting held at Hartlepool Power Station in June. Updale Natural History Recorder One highlight of the morning was a presentation by a lady representing CIEC –Centre for Industry Monday 2nd March 2020 - Nosterfield Nature Education Collaboration. The focus of the talk Reserve Simon Warwick described work carried out with teachers and pupils, mainly in primary schools, to promote a love and Monday 6th April 2020- A.G.M. and Saltholme RSPB understanding of science and industry. Pupils Update. shared their views before and after taking part in “Children Challenging Industry”. The teaching throughout this year has centred on sustainability. LOCAL OUTINGS AUGUST 2019 TO How relevant this is to their future! Feedback from DECEMBER 2019 children and teachers alike was extremely positive. SEATON SNOOK Ali McLee and I represented the club at the recent Saturday 31st August 2019 annual Tees Valley Nature Partnership conference. There were numerous thought-provoking talks and Meet at the end of the Zinc Works Road at 16.30. seminars. I believe access to all of the Join Graeme Joynt for this outing which has been presentations should be available online soon. arranged to coincide with the incoming tide. Hopefully good numbers of passage waders should As we all know, the Little Terns jumped ship from be present. Whimbrel, Grey Plover, Knot, Ringed Crimdon Dene this year and half the colony has Plover and Dunlin are amongst the targets but arrived on the beach at Seaton Carew. There has something scarcer may be present amongst the been difficulty funding the expenses of the wardens large numbers of the smaller waders which are and so a committee decision was taken to help fund often present here at this time of year. The Snook such a worthwhile project. should also hold several species of tern at this time. Roseate Terns have been regular at this time of year Julie Mason has been working hard to bring in recent years. together the series of evening talks for 2019/20. Leader: Graeme Joynt ( Tel: 07968572603) Finding speakers year after year is not an easy task. Please, if you have any ideas, do speak to Julie, SEA WATCHING AT HARTLEPOOL HEADLAND myself or any of the other committee members. Saturday 21st September 2019

Enjoy what is left of the summer and we look Meet at the Heugh Gun Battery from 9.00 a.m. Join forward to reconvening at our first indoor meeting Chris Sharp for this always popular outing. If the in September. weather conditions are favourable almost anything is possible at this time of year. Four species of Skua and 2 species of Shearwater are the targets. Even if INDOOR MEETING SCHEDULE 2019-20 it is a westerly there still should be something of interest to see such as Common Scoter and Teal. If Meeting starts at 7:30 pm in Stockton Central the sea watching is poor there may be something to Library. Room open from 7 pm for Tea & Coffee. be found in the nearby gardens. Visitors are welcome Leader: Chris Sharp. (Tel: 01429 865163)

Monday 2nd September 2019 - On Crescent Wings- BIRD RINGING AT HARTLEPOOL HEADLAND a Portrait of the Swift Jonathan Pomroy Sunday 13th October 2019

Monday 7th October 2019 - "A Few Days in Join the Tees Ringing Group to witness a Kazakhstan" Nick Morgan demonstration of how migrant birds are caught, processed and released. It is hoped that a variety of Monday 4th November 2019 - Life on the Ledge - small birds will be caught. Given the date almost Birds of Bempton Cliffs" Steve Race anything is possible. Meet at the bowling green by Olive Street from 9.00 a.m. Monday 2nd December 2019 - St Aidan’s Nature Leader: Chris Brown. (Tel: 01429 233474) Reserve John Ingham

6 GREENABELLA/SALTERNS give him access to their birds. He was born in Sunday 17th November 2019 Slingsby, (where he met his late wife Doreen) and always fitted in with the local dales people, where Meet at the Teesmouth National Nature Reserve car his accent noticeably reverted to its roots! park at 9.30 a.m. Hopefully a good selection of ducks and waders should be present. Geese and Swans may also be passing over at this time of year. Both Greenshank and Spotted Redshank have wintered here in the past few years. Leader: Julie Mason. (Tel: 01642 614583)

HARDWICK PARK Friday 13th December 2019

Join Brian Clasper for a walk around this ever changing site. A good selection of ducks should be present on the lake and the recently constructed feeding station affords good close views of woodland species such as Nuthach. Meet at 9.30 a.m. in the car park. Note a small charge is payable for car parking here. Leader: Brian Clasper 07796 448421

GEOFF MYERS 1942 - 2019

Geoff took up bird-ringing when he retired as a Superintendant from Cleveland Police. Initially he contacted Tees Ringing Group with an interest in having rings fitted to the House Martins nesting on his Normanby home, then not long after watching a Mute Swan ringing session, he joined the group as a permanent member. Of course he soon became more involved in the work of the BTO and began studying certain species in greater depth. His other great achievement was with the construction and siting of Owl boxes in Cleveland and North Yorkshire. Barn Owls especially, benefited hugely from Geoff’s boxes and the species once tenuous hold in Cleveland improved phenomenally so that it is a common sight in the area now. Geoff was a very popular speaker at Bird clubs, wildlife groups and many other associations. He always enjoyed imparting his knowledge and contributing to the understanding of others – even on the Sunday when he was taken into hospital, he forwarded the updated version of Flatts Lane for the site guide on the TBC website.

Geoff died suddenly but peacefully in hospital on 8th He was particularly interested in the breeding habits July, after being taken ill the previous evening. He of Swallows in the myriad of small farms around was helpful, kind, with a great sense of humour (a Snilesworth and began what was to become a Boro fan for many years) and a gentleman in every nationally important study of the species. He put in sense who will be missed by many. countless hours of effort, in the often hazardous confines of the assortment of barns and Chris Brown outbuildings, catching and ringing adult Swallows in his beloved North Yorkshire. Greatly liked by everyone he met, he got on well with the many farmers and their families, who he persuaded to

7 NAVIGATION?....JUST FOLLOW YOUR By the beginning of Feb 2019 about 40 volunteers NOSE had been issued with maps and instructions and were in place to cover the 54 tetrads (2km X 2km How do seabirds navigate in huge areas of squares) allocated to us. apparently featureless ocean? An article in the January edition of British Birds described an Also, knowing that there were many other sites that experiment to test the effectiveness of magnetic have or could have Willow Tits in them, Barbara and and olfactory clues. Eric James summarises the I set about covering as much of the rest of results Cleveland as we could in the 2 survey months, which amounted to another 33 tetrads. It is reasonably easy to measure the navigational skills of land birds, and experiments have shown So from mid-Feb to mid-Apr all volunteers were that they use a range of methods including stars, asked to visit their tetrad(s) at least once, but the sun, the angle of the Earth’s magnetic field preferably three times, and play a pre-recorded tape (declination) and even smell. It is more difficult with of Willow Tit for 2 minutes in likely-looking habitat, seabirds though tests in 2013 on Cory’s Shearwaters and record what they saw. This also included Marsh have shed some light on the problem. Previous Tits that sometimes respond to the Willow Tit tape. experiments with Manx Shearwaters have shown that the position of the sun is used as a compass, Despite the erratic and variable quality of the but the Cory’s experiment was to see if magnetic returning maps and paperwork (and the or olfactory senses were used as well. volunteers!), a total of 53 territories were found in Cleveland. Remarkably, this is precisely the same A group of birds were taken from their breeding number as recorded in Breeding Birds of Cleveland colony on the Salvergens (between Madeira and 1999-2006 (G Joynt et al). However, in the the Canaries) and moved by boat 700 km away. intervening 20 or so years, the Willow Tit has They were fitted with satellite-tracking devices to declined nationally by around 50%. Either record their subsequent movements. One group Cleveland has bucked the national trend or only had magnets attached to their heads so they would about half the Willow Tits were found during the not detect the much weaker Earth’s magnetic field, 1999-2006 survey years. a second group had their sense of smell temporarily disabled and the third group were left as a control. The 2019 survey has specifically targeted Willow Tits whereas all breeding species were being After release, the control group were soon heading counted 20 years ago, and the use of a tape to home and were back on their nests within a few attract the birds has undoubtedly rendered many days, the magnetically disrupted birds had a similar birds audible and visible to the observer. Several pattern, but those with no sense of smell roamed birders noted that Willow Tits would not have been round with no definite orientation, though some did noticed without the resulting response to the 2 return but only by flying during daylight (The minute tape. population on the Salvergens have diurnal visits to land rather than the normal nocturnal land visits). As may be expected, the majority of territories were These results caused some consternation, especially in the SE corner of Cleveland, away from the among researchers who believed birds had little or conurbation of Tees-side. A total of 28 were located no sense of smell. in a band tracking E from Flatts Lane (where 7 were found in 1 tetrad) through Guisborough, Lingdale, Eric James Liverton, Moorsholm and Loftus. Another 6 were in the extreme N corner from Hart to Hart-to-Haswell walkway, and a few were around the inland edge of Cleveland, at places like Stillington, Wynyard WILLOW TIT SURVEY 2019 walkway, Whitton and Newsham. Also, 6 territories were surrounded by houses, 2 each at Billingham Towards the end of 2018, the RSPB announced a Bottoms, Egglescliffe and Thornaby. national Willow Tit survey, and requested organisers for each county to co-ordinate Whilst we tried to find all of Cleveland’s Willow Tits, volunteers, paperwork, submission of results etc. a few birds will have been missed, so I would assess Despite having an inordinate amount of voluntary the population to be close to 60 pairs in 2019. work on her plate, our wonderful chairperson, Ms Barbara Crinson took on the job for Cleveland with Martin Blick her usual efficiency and thoroughness.

8 One thing your photographs won’t show is TITBITS:Some bird related news and facts, photoluminescence from the birds’ bills. It is only compiled by Eric James visible to human eyes when the bird is viewed under ultraviolet light. Tests done on Puffins (who were fitted with ‘sunglasses’ to avoid damage to their eyes) showed that the luminescence was from the coloured plates that the birds have during the breeding season (they are shed afterwards). It emphasised the vertical grooves on the bill, which indicate the bird’s age. The reason for this phenomenon is not known, but it must be related to breeding activities. Some possibilities are pair formation and maintenance, guiding the young to food in the dark of the burrow, and attracting potential prey while under water.

The source of the light must lie in the structure of PLASTICS – SOME GOOD NEWS FOR BEES the plates, as it was also found from a very old museum specimen. Researchers in Argentina, studying the pollinators of a chicory crop, placed boxes round the edge of DANGEROUS PETS the field so bees could build brood cells. In one box they found three brood cells made using plastic Michael Parkinson might not think much of emus from disposable shopping bags. It was not possible after his famous fracas with Rod Hull, but he should to decide why artificial rather than the usual natural be glad it was an emu and not one of its relatives, materials were used. the Cassowary. These have four-inch dagger-like claws and have been called the most dangerous Some birds do, of course, incorporate man-made birds in the world. materials in their nests, such as plastic, wooden items, metal and rubber. Gannets seem to be A 75-year old man in Florida kept one in his home attracted to brightly coloured artificial ropes lost (it could only happen in America), and was attacked from fishing vessels. and killed by the bird when he fell.

There can be problems. A Mistle Thrush at Other unsuitable animals that shouldn’t be kept as Lockwood Beck died when it got a leg entangled in pets are koalas, which have sharp teeth and claws some discarded fishing line used in its nest. that they use if necessary.

Magpies are notable users of odd materials in nest HOOVERING UP BIRDS building, including metal turnings. A pair at Hemlington Lake had what looked like a polyester Makers of television adverts tend to follow fashions. tie in their structure. One recent fashion was having people performing acrobatics. A particularly irritating example was a PUFFARAZZI Mediterranean farmer pole-vaulting to pick an olive from the top of a tree. Actual olive picking is not so The RSPB is investigating the serious decline in whimsical. It is done by machines that suck in the Puffin numbers. As part of this, they want to find fruit. They have lights so they can operate at night the food the adults are bringing to the pufflings. If during the harvesting season of October to January. you have any photographs of Puffins carrying fish Of course, this is when there are northern European to their nest burrows, they will give information on birds that have migrated south for the winter. Any the species and size of the fish. To submit roosting in olive groves are dazzled and disoriented photographs, go to by the lights and are sucked into the harvesters, with up to a 100 birds in each harvest trailer. In www.rspb.org.uk/projectpuffin Andalucia, it is estimated that 2.6 million birds are killed during harvesting Photographs do not need to be from this year; older ones are especially welcome as long as the date and Eric James location are given.

MORE ABOUT PUFFINS

9 LISTS, MISTAKES ETC I knew he would be right. Sure enough when I checked my records there it was: “Croft H’pool As the subjects of this article are birdwatching and 12.10.10”. How can I not remember that bird when accounting some would think it could be the most I can vividly recall a Woodchat Shrike seen in boring ever written. We shall see. Most Minorca and another on Capri. So 299. But it was birdwatchers keep lists. I have kept only one, my to get worse. UK, or is it Great Britain, list. I have kept my list using an ancient bookkeeping program on my PC. Connected to the ancient PC with the ancient For anyone remotely interested, to keep my list, I program was an ancient printer, over 25 years old. transferred the RSPB little grey book “Field Lists” It died. So before my old program died I transferred into nominal ledger accounts. There are 321 birds my list record to Excel on my relatively new Mac and on that list. For new rarities not on the RSPB list I it was not as time consuming as I thought it would created a new nominal account. So Green Winged be. But I was to find that mistakes had been made. Teal became no. 322 and so on. The mechanics Disaster. I had ticked (debited) no. 36 Snow Goose were Debit a nominal account with 1 and credit and also opened a new “account “ at 351 for Snow Total (Nominal account no 500) with 1. In this way Goose. Worse, I had ticked no 40 Egyptian Goose I kept my list and running total. Is anybody still with and also opened 333 for that bird. Delete 333, me? Does anybody think I was pessimistic assuming delete 351. Back to 297. Later I had made a note I would not reach 500? at the side of my list of those species off the RSPB list which I have yet to see in UK – Capercaillie, For a few years now my total has remained in the Crested Tit, Snowy Owl among them. In doing so I lower 290’s. The Eastern Black Redstart at found that I had not ticked off the Turtle Dove seen Skinningrove in October 2016 had taken it to 296, on the feeder at the side of the café on top of Sutton and there it had remained until May 2018 when a Bank. 298. This was all rather anticlimactic and I trip to Mull enabled me to add White-tailed Eagle decided it was all a bit silly getting excited about and Corncrake to the list. The Quail at Hartlepool numbers and calmed down, calmed down. Headland bowling green brought up 299. Oh what excitement! From passively scanning Teesmouth Another opportunity for a life-tick arrived soon Bird Club website to observe what birds were in the enough. On 25th July I again travelled out to area I moved to avidly scouring it for that elusive Scaling Dam. This time the rarity was much more 300th specie. How I regretted missing that Cattle considerate. The Franklin’s Gull lazed on the spit Egret at Saltholme by ten minutes last year. On 12th directly in front of the hide. Back to 299. After this June a Woodchat Shrike was reported at Scaling I closely watched the sightings on the website but Dam. It was not clear precisely where but by the nothing presented itself. 14th I could resist no longer. With instructions from a helpful birder in the Car Park and accompanied by Meanwhile James had taken a holiday near the Isle a more accomplished guide I force-marched the of Skye. Immediately on his return we spoke to mile or so to the moors at the back of the Dam and compare the birds he had seen on Skye with those obtained brilliant views of the Woodchat Shrike which I had seen on Mull. He was pretty sure he feeding. I spent half an hour on a beautiful had seen a Yellow-legged Gull and had photos of Summer’s evening regaining my breath and the bird. He was mulling (pun intended) over watching the shrike. I returned to the reservoir in whether or not to inform the Recorder. A few days time to see an Osprey circling, thinking about later he rang me. He was highly embarrassed he fishing. This was just a self indulgent interlude had contacted the Recorder to report the Yellow- revelling in my sightings before I would make my legs and sent his photographs. He had received a bragging phone call to my son James, who is a very polite reply saying that a Yellow-legged Gull much better birdwatcher than me. His list used to would have been an extreme rarity but be longer than mine, but after 12 years of unfortunately the photographs were of a Common retirement while he has been working I have Gull. I felt great sorrow and sympathy for James. overtaken him. However, he follows Birdguides and Although I could not resist saying “like father, like has often informed me of local rarities and I often son”. His misidentification was much more feel I am his proxy in viewing some of my life-ticks. understandable than my gaffes with Chaffinch and So bursting with pride I phoned him, “got the Rosefinch; and remarkably, Hen Harrier and Woodchat Shrike .That’s 300”, and gushed on Magpie. describing the fabulous views of the shrike and the Osprey. “What about the Woodchat Shrike we saw Later, thinking about James and feeling sorry for at Hartlepool a few years back?” he asked. My how badly he felt, I had a “light-bulb” moment. bubble was well and truly pricked, with a very loud Yellow-legged Gull, the one I had seen on numerous pop. I did not remember that bird at Hartlepool but occasions at the Tees Barrage, was it on my list? I dashed to my computer and no it was not there. So

10 that was 300. What an anti-climax. It would have With no numbers of breeding birds ,the maps are been nice to achieve 300 in the field, watching a coloured to cover a range of densities: Abundant, bird in its natural habitat rather than my having my common ,uncommon ,rare ,occasional, probable memory click into gear in my front room. I suppose breeding but unconfirmed ,non-breeding and the Franklin’s Gull was my actual 300th. Does it extinct ,indicated by E . matter? Does anybody care other than me? Well there is a strange satisfaction in passing milestones, The ladies’ fashion business had a large effect on however artificial. And the Pomarine Skua at South the Great Crested Grebe, already declining by Gare in early September is number 301. Should I having eggs collected for food, and whose feathers already be getting excited about 400? (as well as Kittiwakes’)were used for coats instead of fur, boas and muffs, and the tippets were used Keith Robson as hat decorations. The map shows the species was still widespread but in low numbers with only a few counties classed as common, and the others as A BOOK WORTH READING uncommon, rare, or non-breeding. Legal protection helped recovery, but even in 1932, the total A Historical Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and population was estimated at only 32 to 72 pairs. Ireland 1875-1900 Simon Holloway T & A.D. Poyser (hardback £20 on Amazon) The effect of drainage is obvious in the maps for Bittern, Marsh Harrier, Ruff and Bearded Tit all If you’ve kept up with the BTO’s 20 year cycle of having many counties marked E national bird surveys, you will have a neat row of books covering recent breeding and wintering The maps for waterfowl have surprisingly limited ranges of our birds. Over the 50 or so years ranges for some species we now take for granted. covered, the books demonstrate the drastic changes in populations and ranges of many species. Raptor and corvid persecution is evident in the However, to get an idea of the historical context of raptor and Raven maps, the Red Kite map is these changes needs a longer perspective and this especially shocking with swathes of counties is what Holloway’s book does. The Introduction marked E , though there is a surprise in that the describes what was happening in the last quarter of smaller Sparrowhawk and Kestrel survived in good the nineteenth century, including the continuation numbers. of the industrial revolution, railway expansion, the growth of towns, all of which altered the Waders had mixed fortunes. Like the Ruff, Black- environment and habitats available to birds. There tailed Godwits suffered from drainage. The Kentish were also changes in agricultural practice, which Plover, nesting along the shores of Kent and Sussex, included extensive drainage schemes. Some things suffered from nest predation and by shooting for didn’t change, such as sporting estates where birds collectors. The last straw was the building of a and mammals that might affect the number of game railway and roads with holiday bungalows. birds available for shooting were remorselessly Disturbance has prevented any recovery. persecuted. Fashion in ladies’ clothing also took its toll with an enormous demand for birds’ feathers. It To see what we have lost from changes in was this last aspect which led to the founding of the agriculture, examine the maps for Spotted Crake, Society for the Protection of Birds. Corncrake, Stone Curlew, Wryneck (considered to be the most numerous woodpecker, though there At the same time, following Darwin, there was an were already signs of decline), Woodlark, Red- interest in science, which attracted the clergy and backed Shrike, Cirl Bunting and Corn Bunting. gentry towards studying birds, leading to the publication of many county avifaunas, which A book of old distribution maps might not sound provide the data for the present book. interesting, but this book can be recommended as a fascinating study. For most species, there is a two page spread with a distribution map on the right side. In the top, right Eric James hand corner there is also a small copy of the distribution from the 1986 to 1972 atlas. Scarce species have short accounts in an appendix.

The maps use the Watsonian vice-counties, which are subdivisions of counties based on botanical criteria.

11 giving a total of 179,457, which is almost 10% of BIRD HUNTING IN EUROPE the EU-27 average breeding population. The Scandinavian countries have the largest CABS (Committee Against Bird Slaughter) has hunting bags; based on hunters’ reports they are: featured previously in a Club Newsletter, viz. No.60 in April 2015. Finland 136,700

They have managed to compile numbers of birds Sweden 20,566 killed in Europe, or more precisely in the EU plus Norway 20,120 Norway and Switzerland. This was not an easy job as the information is scattered and varies in format The leks in these countries must be impressive! between countries, but results have been obtained Quail : There are open seasons for Quail hunting in and were published in the March issue of British 10 EU countries, of which six record hunting bags, Birds. giving a total of 1,607,964, or about 40% of the EU- 27 average breeding population. In addition to this, Many countries (26) collect hunting details from there are an estimated 76,064 killed in Italy their hunters so have accurate numbers of birds killed. Four others do not collect this information. Lapwing : The species is hunted in five EU Anyone who knows about bird catching in Greece, countries, though only three provided information will not be surprised that it is one of the four; the on the numbers killed, giving a total of 107,802, others, less expected. are Netherlands, Ireland and with 90% of these from France where the species is the UK. For the other 26 countries, the birds killed classed as Near Threatened because of a decline in in calendar year 2014 or in 2014/2015 were the breeding population of 75% over the last 30 52,285,670 of 598 species, of which 82 species years. Estimates from other countries include 7,489 were legally hunted. The total number of registered in Italy and a horrifying 100,000 in Greece. hunters in the 30 countries was 6,389,097. The only good news is that France and Malta report The good news is that the number killed is down a reduction of 78% in hunting bags from previous estimates. The bad news is that These figures and those for other species suggest illegally killed birds are not necessarily recorded, that large wintering populations are used as a and the legally killed birds include those with justification for hunting, but as breeding and declining populations. As shooters justify their wintering birds cannot be distinguished, hunting is activities by claiming they are merely killing the exploiting other countries’ breeding birds. surplus population, they would find it difficult to use this justification with a vulnerable species. Turtle Dove :Ten countries have open seasons for Turtle Doves, and eight of them provide figures for The EU rules on hunting birds cover 82 species hunting bags which amount to 1,455,208 birds, which are in Annex II of the Birds Directive. The equivalent to a fifth of the breeding population in Annex consists of part A which is a list of 24 species EU-27 that can be hunted in all the EU countries, unless The species is classed as globally threatened, and prohibited by local laws , and part B lists the EU declining breeding numbers in continental Europe countries which can have open seasons for the appear to have reduced hunting losses remaining 58 species. We can’t blame our lack of Turtle Doves entirely on Vulnerable species that are not protected include: hunting as the species depends on seeds for food and the food plants have been drastically reduced Pochard : 22 countries have open seasons for by the extensive use of herbicides. It is true that Pochards. 12 of these count up hunting bags, giving any recovery would be handicapped by hunting on total of 30,645 birds killed, of which 25,199 were the present scale killed in France where the species is classed as Vulnerable. The winter population is estimated as [Note : excessive use of herbicides has drawbacks 75,500 birds, so the French hunters are killing the as serious agricultural weeds such as black grass breeding birds from other countries. have become immune to them in the same way as some bacteria are now immune to antibiotics.] Black Grouse :With a UK population of less than Woodcock :The species is hunted in 26 countries. 5,100 males and Red-listed, Black Grouse are still 21 provided figures for hunting bags, totalling hunted, though the number of birds taken appears 973,414 birds. In addition, an estimated 144,099 to be decreasing at least partly by voluntary were killed in Italy. restraint. The species is hunted in eight other countries. Six of these have counts of birds taken, There has been some reduction in hunting, but not in the UK where the number killed annually has

12 remained level at 125,000 to 150,000 for the last 20 The BB article goes on to wonder, ”What is the years, even though the species is on the ecological impact of such extraordinary non-native conservation red list. The shooting organisations birds being released? Is there any link between the claim that 90% of the birds killed are from the increase in Pheasant numbers since the late 1960s continent; so another example of shooters killing and the 56% decline in farmland birds....?”. other countries’ breeding birds. The continental The owners of large shooting estates clearly make population is said to be steady, though there is a money by charging high prices to people who want slow fall because of significant declines in Russia the dubious pleasure of slaughtering birds. In Perhaps we should be glad that many of our addition to this, the Pheasants reared by an Estate shooters are happy to just kill Pheasants. are classed as livestock, which gives tax benefits as well as exemption from some planning controls Eric James

PHEASANTS, PHEASANTS AND EVEN MORE PHEASANTS Shooters are always quick to remind us that they protect the countryside by planting and preserving the copses and planting cover crops for Pheasant shooting and, incidentally, helping wild birds. An article in the May edition of British Birds highlights the cost of this ‘benefit’, which consists of flooding Map showing North Yorkshire the countryside with large number of artificially raised Pheasants. Since North Yorkshire county also covers the moors with grouse shooting areas, there are even more Simply noticing the number of naïve birds game birds to protect, which might explain its wandering across roads in front of vehicles clearly notoriety for the persecution of raptors. demonstrates the vast size of these releases., but putting a figure on it is more difficult. However, it The concentration of shooting estates is even more has been done by Guy Shrubsole and based on pronounced when counted by postcode. many FoI requests the results are available on his The eleven highest are: Who owns England blog at https://whoownsengland.org/ Number of ( Spoiler Alert : land in England is owned by the Postcode Number Aristocracy, gentry, rich businessmen such as Pheasants of estates bankers and hedge fund managers, companies and district Trusts registered overseas, especially on the released Cayman Islands, and rich foreigners such as the Sheikh of Dubai and Saudi princes) For 2018, the YO61 1,045,300 12 total number of released Pheasants is 20,756,012. The biomass of these birds is greater than the total YO18 377,700 8 of all the native birds. They are not distributed evenly, with some areas having particularly dense PR3 357,857 20 populations. Counties with the highest numbers are : OX5 284,650 5 Sum of Usual Stock EX32 280,750 9 County Numbers North Yorkshire 2,645,295 SP5 233,550 31 Devonshire 1,539,312 Cambridgeshire 1,280,095 YO62 230,650 24 Norfolk 1,127,320 Oxfordshire 945,510 TN19 213,300 5 Suffolk 933,179 Somerset 866,174 NG34 209,750 9 Hampshire 848,990 Hereford & Worcester 798,195 TA20 205,900 12 Lancashire 741,277 NR12 200,080 11 Shropshire 726,000

13 The numbers in North Yorkshire are astounding, be up to 50 million at the start of the shooting but even more are those in postcode area YO61. season in October. This is centred on Easingwold and includes a part of The natural range of the Pheasant is east from the the Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Caspian Sea to Korea. However its popularity as a Beauty as well as edges of the north York Moors game bird has led to it being introduced into many other areas. The population in the core area of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan is only 6,000 to 12,000 pairs (if ‘pairs’ has any meaning since males assemble a harem of females). This is miniscule compared with the 14,000,000 in Europe, with 1,850,000 or 46% of these in the UK. The expansion of the Pheasant shooting business in the UK is evident from these two sets of Pheasant Map of postcode YO61 numbers (expressed in millions) Year 1976 2015 Wild birds 2 4 Released birds 2-4 43 Birds shot 2-3 13 This shows that in 2015, 30 million birds died of disease, starvation, traffic accidents, or predation. These must provide food (33,000 tonnes in fact) for scavengers such as Crows, Magpies, Common Buzzards and Red Kites. Although Avery has campaigned against Grouse shooting, he has no objection to Pheasant shooting, and agrees with shooting organisers that hunting estates do have more wild birds than normal estates. Grain from cover crops and provided in hoppers are intended to help Pheasants, but 67% is Location of three York postcodes with high Pheasant taken by Corvids, rats, water birds, pigeons, rabbits numbers and predatory mammals; there is little advantage to small seed-eaters such as Skylark,, Tree Sparrow, Shrubsole has not managed to identify all the Linnet, Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer, and Reed shooting Estates in YO61, but he has identified one Bunting, all of which are declining. Comparison of very large one. Newburgh Priory Estate. This is the the UK with other countries with similar intensive 5,889-acre estate of Sir George Wombwell, 7th farming implies that our problems with farmland baronet. The estate passed to the 2nd baronet who birds are related to Pheasant rearing. had married the daughter of the previous owners, the Bellasis family. The ShootingUK website assures Other adverse effects arising from Pheasant rearing its visitors that there is ‘no shortage of birds’. In are long-lasting damage to woodland vegetation in addition to pheasants, other species available for the vicinity of the rearing pens, which comprise 1% shooting are partridges and ducks of English woodland Note: other subjects investigated in the Who owns There is also the persecution of raptors such as England blog include ownership of Grouse moors Goshawk, Sparrowhawk and Buzzard. Shooting and the south downs, moor burning, unoccupied uses lead shot, equivalent to 5,100 tonnes being put homes in London, land owned by the water utilities into the environment, though 60% is around clay and various tax dodging schemes of the very pigeon shoots wealthy, such as James Dyson. The code of Good Shooting states that shoot Postscript :Since writing the above, the July managers should have arrangements for the sale or edition of British Birds has published a paper by consumption of the expected bag. Lead is a problem Mark Avery covering the potential impacts of large here as well. EU regulations limit the lead in beef, Pheasant releases. It is based on data from 2015 so lamb, pork and poultry to 0.01 p.p.m. of wet weight. is slightly different from the above. The number of No limit has been set for game that had been shot. Pheasants released each year is estimated as 43 Pheasant meat with the shot removed had ten times million, so with 4 million wild breeding birds and the EU limit at 980 p.p.b. their offspring, the total number of Pheasants could

14 An analysis on 12 Pheasants gave an average lead POPULATION TRENDS IN BRITISH BIRDS content of 410 p.p.b., with a maximum of 1,630 With the completion of the annual BTO Breeding p.p.b. Bird Survey and the Waterways Breeding Survey, Pheasant meat is high in protein and selenium, but the Trust has published the latest trends for the UK, the lead content means it should not be eaten by England and English regions, Wales and Scotland. pregnant women or young children. The report is available at A final problem with inflated pheasant populations https://www.bto.org/sites/default/files/bbs-report- is that the species forms a reservoir of the ticks that 2016.pdf spread Lyme disease and of avian diseases that can Many of the results (for 1995 to 2015) confirm what infect commercial poultry such as Avian flu and is probably evident to most birdwatchers. Species Newcastle disease. Avery concludes with a with welcome large increases include Little Egret ( comparison of the reams of paperwork required for up 2894%), Red Kite (up >10000%), and less the release of a few individuals of a native species welcome Ring-necked Parakeet (up 1455%). such as the White-tailed Eagle with the casual Smaller but welcome increases were Barn Owl acceptance of an annual release of 43 million (238% though Little Owl was down 57%), and medium-sized, omnivorous, non-native birds. A FoI Goldfinch (118%). request to Defra on the impact of Pheasant releases brought this reply : ‘Defra has not assessed the Some species pairs had contrasting fortunes : impact of releasing Pheasants or Red-legged Blackcap (up 117%) and Garden Warbler (down Partridges on biodiversity and is not currently 31%); Chiffchaff (up 111%) and Willow Warbler planning any research in this area due to (down 43%), and House Sparrow (down 18%) and biodiversity research priorities.’ Tree Sparrow (up 69%). It was a surprise to see Song Thrush (up 20%) though Mistle Thrush was So if the Government to too busy or can’t be down 38%, putting both thrush species in the red bothered, we’ll just have to make up our own minds. list category The increase in Chiffchaffs is at least partly due to an increase in Scotland where the species is expanding its range. Another species benefiting by an expansion northwards is Nuthatch (up 90%) There are, of course, the losers : Turtle Dove (down 94%), Starling (down 51%), Greenfinch, no surprise (down 46%), Skylark (down 22%), Marsh Tit (down 41%), Willow Tit (down 80%) Eric James

Pheasant, Fountains Abbey Eric James

Post Postscript : As you might have heard, Chris Packham and his campaign group, Wild Justice, have now sent a legal letter to Michael Gove, the environment secretary, accusing him of failing to assess the impact on wildlife of releasing tens of millions of non-native pheasants and red-legged partridges into the countryside. So will we get an answer at last?

Eric James

15 WETLAND BIRD SURVEY TEESMOUTH AUTUMN 2018 SUMMARY

N.B. ‘Teesmouth’ includes Hartlepool Bay & the whole of the RSPB Saltholme Reserve.